Text looks blurry after export? Fix it for a travel blog

You add a headline or location label to a travel photo, export it, and the text looks soft on your blog. The cause may be the text layer, a small source image, the export format, or resizing by your site.

Work through the image before and after export to find where the blur appears. The Photo Editor lets you add text on layers and make a fresh export without installing an app.

Check the text before and after export

1. Open the original photo in the Photo Editor. Keep the original file unchanged so you can compare it with your edited version.
2. Look at the photo and text at the size they will appear on your blog. Check whether the photo itself is sharp and whether the lettering looks crisp before export.
3. If the text is editable, select its layer and inspect the lettering. If it is part of a flattened image, compare it with the original photo to see whether it was already soft before editing.
4. Export a new copy, then open that file and inspect it at its actual pixel size. Avoid judging only from a zoomed-in view, since enlarging an image on screen can make pixels look soft.
5. Compare the exported file with the version shown in your blog preview. If it is sharp locally but blurry on the page, your publishing platform may be resizing or compressing it.

For a useful comparison, use the same display and viewing size each time. A browser preview may scale an image to fit its space, while the exported file contains a fixed number of pixels.

What the result means

The text is blurry before export

The problem is already in the project. The text may have been enlarged from a small graphic, or it may be part of a low-resolution image rather than a separate text layer. Re-enter it as editable text if you can, then size it for the final image.

The editor view is sharp, but the exported file is blurry

Check whether the export changed the image dimensions or used a format that softened fine edges. Small letters are particularly sensitive to resizing and compression. Export another copy at the image's intended pixel dimensions, and compare it before uploading.

The file is sharp, but the blog preview is blurry

The blog platform, theme, or browser may be displaying a smaller or larger version than the exported image. Check the image in the published page at its normal display size. If the platform offers image-size choices, use one that serves enough pixels for the space where the graphic appears.

Only the photo looks soft, not the text

The text layer is probably fine. The source photo may be low resolution, out of focus, or enlarged beyond its original size. Replacing or recropping the photo can help, but adding pixels through resizing will not restore detail that was never captured.

How to fix blurry text

1. Use an editable text layer. Add the wording as text in the Photo Editor instead of pasting a small text image into the design. Editable text stays separate from the photo while you size and position it.
2. Choose a readable size for the final image. Tiny text can lose clarity when a blog theme scales the graphic down. Make the headline and any location label large enough to read at the width visitors will see, and avoid using fine, very thin lettering for small captions.
3. Start with a large enough photo. Check the image dimensions in pixels and compare them with the intended display size. For example, a 1,200-pixel-wide image displayed at 1,200 pixels has more usable detail than a 600-pixel image stretched to the same width.
4. Avoid enlarging the finished graphic repeatedly. Repeated resizing can soften edges, especially when the image is reduced and enlarged again. Keep a working copy at its original dimensions and make the final size adjustment once.
5. Choose a format suited to the graphic. Text over a photo may look softer after strong lossy compression, which discards some image information to make a smaller file. Compare the available export formats and use one that keeps edges clean while meeting your site's file requirements.
6. Check the platform's image handling. Upload the sharp export and preview it on the actual page. If the page looks soft, check whether the content system has created smaller image variants or whether the theme enlarges a thumbnail. Uploading a version with sufficient pixel dimensions may solve the mismatch.

Do not sharpen the whole photo immediately to fix fuzzy lettering. Strong sharpening can add halos around text and make details in the landscape look harsh. First confirm that the text layer, pixel dimensions, and displayed size are right.

Pick the right final size for your blog

Pixel dimensions describe how many picture elements an image contains. They matter more for a web graphic than a print resolution value such as DPI. Estimate the width of the blog's image area, then export enough pixels for that display width. If the page may show the graphic at 1,000 pixels wide, a source that is only 500 pixels wide has to be enlarged and will usually look less crisp.

Also consider where the graphic will appear. A full-width banner, a small card image, and a phone screen do not use the same display size. If you place small wording over a scenic photo, check the design at the smallest size readers are likely to see. Increase the text size or remove secondary wording if it becomes hard to read.

Keep a high-quality working copy and export a separate web-ready version. That way you can make a new size or format later without editing an already compressed file.